Membership Policy Working Group

October 5, 2004 - minutes

Present: Wendy Layton, Corey Simpson, Chris Tamdjidi, Mary Whetsell

Next Meeting:    Tentative date: Tuesday, October 26, pending confirmation that President Reoch can attend. Call-in number and access code to be announced.                  

1. REVIEW OF ISSUES RAISED BY WORKING GROUP AND REVIEW GROUP MEMBERS

The working group reviewed several issues, weighing the input given by the above. Tentative resolutions were reached for each issue; it should be clearly understood, however, that all recommendations will be distributed to the mandala-at-large for review and feedback. Therefore, nothing in the proposed membership policy is a done deal at this point. The following were discussed:

A	Issue: Draft #4 (pg 2, Rec #1) of the membership policy reads as though Dorje Kasung practice, as a “meditation-in-action” practice, is sufficient unto itself for one to be a member, with or without a basis in sitting meditation. Suggested Resolution: Since President Reoch wrote that particular sentence, we will wait until he returns from Tibet to clarify this issue.
B	Issue: Role of meditation instructors in membership development: some Centers are currently offering M.I.s as a privilege of membership, while others offer M.I.s to all who would like one. Suggested Resolution: M.I.’s should be available to all who would like to work with them, not only to those who are already members. This is because M.I.s are the best trained to work with new students and should play an important role in guiding students towards membership.  Shambhala International will consult with Centers whose M.I. resources may be stretched by this approach, and help them to train more M.I.s or to find other creative ways to meet their population’s need for meditation instructors.
C	Issue: Membership for those who are not affiliated with a Shambhala Center: while everyone agreed there should be a way to include students in the mandala who do not have access to a Center, some thought these individuals should not be accorded “full member” status. Suggested Resolution: These individuals will hold the rights and responsibilities of full membership. They will pay dues directly to S.I.. They will be asked to work with a meditation instructor via telephone and/or email. S.I. will institute a system whereby such students are connected to willing M.I.s.
D	Issue: Concern was expressed regarding too rigid of requirement regarding volunteering in order to be a member. Suggested Resolution: All members are encouraged to volunteer as time and life circumstances allow. The administration of volunteers is left up to the skillful means required by various local situations, but in general, volunteering need not be monitored in the same way that financial giving should be.
E	Issue: Dues Suggested Resolution: Review Group and Working Group members all agree that every member should pay dues each month. The amount of the dues paid is less important than the exchange of energy between the individual and their sangha when dues are paid. For example, for persons with no or little means to pay dues, they could pay as little as $1 per month. This approach also ensures a simple way for each Center to know who its’ members are.
F	Issue: Recognition and welcoming of members by Shambhala International. Suggested Resolution: S.I. will receive the names of members at local Centers from that Center’s membership coordinator. S.I. will send these members a membership pin, and a letter of welcome.

2. MEMBERSHIP POLICY, DRAFT #5

In the next couple of days, Mary will incorporate the above changes and refinements into our draft document, and will email it to all working group members for feedback.  Once approved by the Working Group, this draft document will be posted on the Congress website’s bulletin board and also be emailed to all review group members.